By Brent Matteo Alderson
In February of 1992, Dave Tiberi fought James Toney for the IBF 160-pound title and lost a controversial decision that was so bad that on the air television commentator Alex Wallau described it as “cruel and disgusting” and the controversy surrounding the decision sparked a full-fledged senate investigation into professional boxing. Just recently James Toney, Click Here To Read, finally admitted to losing the fight, and BoxingScene.com caught up with the former middleweight contender to talk about his life after the fight, his experiences with Bernard Hopkins, and his feelings towards Toney.
BoxingScene.com: So how is Delaware? Are you still doing that local show out there?
Dave Tiberi: Delaware is a great area. We’ve developed our studios here right. We’re actually modernizing our television studio right now for not only cable, but also the internet. We’ve secured the domain a couple of years ago, delawaretv.com, so we’re reformatting and it’s a new way to get information to the community. It’s a lot of fun, it’s a small community and directly or indirectly we all know each other and we want to help the community.
BoxingScene.com: Do you ever watch the Toney fight?
Dave Tiberi: It took a number of years to actually sit down and people have asked me that numerous times. I don’t know if I’ve ever watched all twelve rounds. Its been odd and it was a chapter of my life that was very tough. I looked at it and it was many years later and in a number of ways it was a blessing. Back in 1992 boxing and even prior to that and to this day, boxing needs stronger reform and through the Toney-Tiberi fight god used me to try to be that vehicle for change and to this day James has proved what type of fighter he was, still at the top of his game, and has been a top fighter in so many different divisions. So I look at it as me being a person from the little state of Delaware to help reform, and it wasn’t about a Dave Tiberi-James Toney fight, it was about reforming the sport of boxing and I believe God wanted to use me as that change agent.
BoxingScene.com: Do you regret not taking the rematch?
Dave Tiberi: Well my chief sparring partner for five years was Bernard Hopkins. And Bernard Hopkins and I to this day are good friends and people say to me, you were in camp every day with Bernard Hopkins and you guys were at the top of your game together, you could be where Hopkins is. I also look at it another way too. I have friends out there right now who have speech impediments, health problems. So do I miss it? NO. I can say on that side of it I really don’t miss the sport.
I love the people around me that I came across. I got to travel the world. I don’t regret the decision that I made. It wasn’t a money issue, it was a moral issue. I went into the ring to win the fight. That was my goal that night. I thought I did it. Then when the investigation got underway and the rules were broken. The two judges that scored it for James were unlicensed in New Jersey. The only licensed judge, Frank Burnett, had me winning the fight in a blow out. I asked since day one to give me the fight on their own rule books. That’s why I think the full fledged investigation into the sport of boxing took place because commissioner Hazzard and the New Jersey commission would not do what was right.
BoxingScene.com: So you wanted them to throw out the score-cards of the two judges that ruled for Toney because they were unlicensed?
Dave Tiberi: Legally that was it. Legally under the rule books if you’re unlicensed in the state, you’re null and void.
BoxingScene.com: So you wanted them to use the score card rendered by the one licensed judge?
Dave Tiberi: Correct. This was in the subcommittee of investigations. Then the referee prior to that fight, the referee was considered green and incompetent so he wasn’t supposed to be in there, and without a warning he deducted a point, he took it away from me so there were a number of things that happened. I look back and people should know, I’m not a complainer. I will take what comes at me, but I will still stand up for what’s right. I had to start all over again, but I was willing to do that and fortunately I had a real strong wife that was strong in faith that stood by me. The Toney fight was only a 30 thousand dollar payday, but I took that fight because I knew I could beat James and that was the right fight for me at the right time. And so I look back and look at some of the guys at the time and the division and I thought I could have stayed at the top of the division for a number of years.
BoxingScene.com: Did you ever envision Bernard Hopkins doing what he’s doing today, pretty much doing an Archie Moore?
Dave Tiberi: That’s funny people have asked me how would you have done with Bernard which is so funny because of course no fighter is going to say he could of beat me. Bernard was a gem, he emulated James Toney when I was training for the James Toney fight. He and Prince Charles Williams. When you look at my camp and lookat the five guys that went in together, up together. Light-heavyweight champion Prince Charles Williams, Super-Middleweight who upset Michael Nunn, Stevie Little, Robert Hines, and Bernard Hopkins, and myself. All five of us guys were in camp together and it was neat to watch each other go up the rankings, and we encouraged each other, pushed each other.
Hopkins had a fight with Dennis Milton so I would try to fight like Dennis Milton in order to get him ready for the fight. When you look at Hopkins from today, from a personal level, I was up at the lodge, at camp with Bernard. When you watch Bernard Hopkins live, its not about what s in the ring, its about what’s outside the ring. He is the most disciplined guy.
For years I felt like the downfall of fighters is their personal life style. And Bernard Hopkins who I never considered the best fighter in the world but all around he became the best fighter in the world because the way he lived. He was a really good fighter, but what made him a phenomenal was his personal lifestyle. It just separated him from everybody else. He was determined to never lose and would not put something in his body or doing something that would detrimentally affect him in that ring.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have any ill feeling towards Toney?
Dave Tiberi: No! James was in there trying to win and so was I. James is going to go down in history as a great fighter. And people ask me what would have happened if you fought him again and I firmly believe that with my style of fighting with the rock solid chin that I had that I would beat James ten out of ten times because I’m a rapid puncher. That’s my style, as a fighter, I won my fights that way. People say to me you guys don’t get along, but you know what, James has stayed in the sport for so long because of his determination and in his own regard his discipline because he’s going to stay to his style no matter what and he’s going to win with the counter punches. He finds ways to win and that’s a real gift.
Notes:
Favorite Quote - In Spanish Chris Arreola told me, “No me importa con quien peleo, mi papá siempre me decía que todos los hombre tienen una verga y dos manos,” which translates to, “I don’t care who I fight, my father always told me that every man has one d*ck and two hands.”
Manny Pacquiao is blurring the lines of reality. What he does in big matches makes me want to re-evaluate everything. Five years ago I actually thought that two time world champ Luisito Espinosa might have beaten the Pac-man in his prime. He was a fairly lengthy featherweight, he won titles in two divisions and knocked out Kennedy McKinney in two rounds. Now I must admit Manny Pacquiao has achieved a lasting greatness in the sport and has to be considered one of the great ones.
I’ve written it before, but pull up the Toney-Nunn fight on youtube. Unbelievably James weighed 157 pounds. He was hungry in more ways than one.
Brent Matteo Alderson, a graduate of UCLA, has been part of the staff at BoxingScene.com since 2004. Alderson's published work has appeared in publications such as Ring Magazine, KO, World Boxing, Boxing 2008, and Latin Boxing Magazine. Alderson has also been featured on the ESPN Classic television program “Who’s Number One?” Please e-mail any comments to BoxingAficionado@aol.com
